Monday, May 16, 2016

Netherlands euthanasia clinic approves lethal injection for a woman who was sexually abused as a child.

Alex Schadenberg
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

On May 14, the Daily Mail reported that a 45 year old woman, known as "Jackie," was approved for euthanasia based on psychiatric issues related to sexually abuse.

"Jackie" is the most recent case in a trend of increasing numbers of euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands combined with increasing numbers of euthanasia deaths for psychiatric reasons.

The 2015 Netherlands euthanasia report stated that there were 5561 reported euthanasia deaths in 2015, up from 5306 in 2014, there were 109 reported euthanasia deaths for dementia, up from 81 in 2014, and there were 56 reported euthanasia deaths for psychiatric reasons, up from 41 in 2014.

News about this recent case comes after the shocking case of a physically healthy woman, in her 20's, died by euthanasia in the Netherlands for psychiatric reasons related to being sexually abused.

According to the Daily Mail article by Sue Reid, in the most recent case, Jackie's sister stated:

This follows a traumatic childhood experience when she was sexually abused at five years old and developed depression as a result.

The Daily Mail reported that the euthanasia clinic received 1234 requests and was responsible for 36 of the 56 psychiatric euthanasia deaths in 2015.

a woman in her 70s without health problems had decided, with her husband, that they would not live without each other. After her husband died, she lived a life described as a "living hell" that was "meaningless."

A consultant reported that this woman "did not feel depressed at all. She ate, drank and slept well. She followed the news and undertook activities."

The "End of Life" euthanasia clinic opened March 2012 with mobile euthanasia units in order to offer death to people who were either turned down by their doctor, or they people who lack mobility, sucha as people with disabilities and the frail elderly.

According to the Daily Mail article the first case of psychiatric euthanasia was also controversial:

After the clinic opened in 2012, its first psychiatric patient was a 54-year-old woman who had mysophobia (a pathological fear of germs or dirt). She, like other End Of Life patients, was killed at home after first being injected with a strong sedative and then a muscle relaxant which stops the heart.

Gerty Casteelen, one of the clinic's psychiatrists, conducted eight hours of interviews with her before deciding that she really wished to die. 'It was a long process', the medic recalls. 'I came to understand that her fears completely controlled her life.

'All she could do all day was clean. It was impossible for her to maintain a relationship. Her whole development had stalled.'

8 comments:

It amazes me how people like Alex Schadenberg who seek to deprive people who have been deemed competent doctors and their conditions to be irremediable the right to a dignified death. Try living with treatment-resistant depression, failing every treatment and going in and out of psych wards over the course of decades. Tyrants such as yourself and your organization would have such people suffer for the rest of their lives until they die.

CS Lewis summed it up best: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Anthony WilkinsWhat is dignified about being injected with poison by doctors? Lethal injections have the highest "botch rate" of all methods of executing people - 7.12%. Quebec has already killed at least 50 people - it's probably more by now, which raises the possibility that for 3.56 people the procedure might not have gone as expected. Is anyone investigating these cases? Once Quebec hits 100 we won't have to cut people in half any more - though that could be a method of "assisting" suicides. Of the 100, 7 people might have suffered more than will be publicized.By contrast, firing squad has a 0% "botch" rate. Perhaps hospitals should start recruiting teams for firing squads. CS Lewis' quote applies perfectly to those who call killing people when they are sick "compassion". Is killing well people compassion too?

Do you really think that doctors are murdering patients? This delusion is incredible. Where are the abuses of the law that you constantly fear-monger about? No, quotes from Christian anti-euthansia doctors don't count I want government independent commitees. And such commitees have found no significant abises. A few cases have raised concerns but they are a tiny minoriry of all euthansia cases.

Your video also includes Tom Mortier. Tom Mortier is understandly upset because his mother chose euthansia, but his mother spent 40 years in therapy and she did not get better. Her life consisted of mental agony day in and day out. She was ruled mentally competent, and it was her own choice to die.

Doctors are HELPING people to die of THEIR OWN REQUEST. Nobody is being forced to be euthanized against their will. Advance directives in the case of dementia or alzheimers are not murder.

You would have people with severe chronic untreatable or treatment-resistant illnesses and conditions spend the rest of their live in agony. Stuck in either a hospital hooked up to a ventilator until they finally die, In the case of dementia or alzheimers where your mental faculties are so greatly deteoriated you cannot live by yourself, have immense problems with memory, and have immense trouble reading a book or watching tv. You simply cannot live a fulfiing life. You wear diapers, have caretakers wash and clean you up, as well as provide food.

And then you would argue against cases of treatment-resistant competent patients (who have spent years and even decades failing every treatment) with psychological disorders so severe that life is simply tortue. You would have them spend the rest of the lives in constant mental agony and to locked up in a psych ward until they die.

You are very cruel, and I truly hope you will never suffer from such hellish conditions. Because if you did, you would be singing a very different tune.

Do you really think somebody with dementia, alzheimers, locked-in syndrome, paralysis or severe chronic depression that has not responded to any treatment over the course of multiple years to decades "well"? How laughable.

A Caring society doesn't kill people but it provides the social, psychological and personal support that is necessary. Often people feel that their life has lost value because they have listened to people like Anthony Wilkins.

Your ideology, Anthony, leads to the abandonment of people rather than caring for people.

Death is not the answer. Death only leads to more reasons for death. It is a form of Nihilism that causes a society to turn in on itself.

Anthony needs to read about what happens already. Death doctors in Belgium are not the kind caring people as he may think.

People are dying in Belgium without request.http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.ca/2015/03/almost-1000-deaths-are-hastened-without.html

The world wants to trust others. They want to think that no one will take my life without request. What we forget is that human history has always repeated itself that is why you can never support a law that gives others the right, in law, to kill you.

"A caring society" Please.A caring society respects the rights and autonomy of people suffering from severe irremediable agony to be allowed a dignified death. You would have people suffer in agony until they die. How utterly cruel.

I have compassion. And I recognize that some suffering is so severe and that treatment does not work or is simply not sufficient enough and that person should be allowed a dignified, peaceful death surrounded by friends and families.

With all due respect I do not want to spend my last years or decade of my life rotting away in a nursing home or hooked up to a ventilator all while being in constant agony. For severe treatment-resistant depression, if I am unable to lead a normal and happy life despite so many years to decades seeking treatment, I do not wish to have to spend the rest of my life locked up in a psychiatric ward until I die.

We treat our pets with more compassion than we do with people.

Ultimately I will not change your opinion and neither will you with mine. I will absolutely concede that there might be a few cases of Euthanasia where the proper procedures have not been followed. Those cases should be thoroughly investigated and proper measures and safeguards should be taken so that they do not happen.

But those few cases do not justify repealing Euthanasia completely, sir.

When you say that these doctors euthanized their patients without "explicit consent"you make it sound that they are murdering patients that did not consent to assisted-death, instead what most of the cases reflect is the patient having advanced-directives to be euthanized an incurable disease that causes mental agony. That or it's their families making the decision for them because they are simply unable to consent(I.e in a coma, unable to communicate, or advanced alzheimers that renders them completely mentally incompetent.)

I'm glad the public is supporting euthansia laws. Like gay marriage, with all due respect sir. This is an issue you are losing on. People are starting to recognize the importance of autonomy and wanting to avoid suffering from the many chronic, very painful and extremely debilitating conditions that are common in the elderly. Such conditions where even palliative care is unable to provide an acceptable amount of comfort and relief. Palliative care has its limits.